As questions swirl over new direction in murders of Abby Williams and Libby German, ISP clarifies that sketches are meant to be different men. Only one’s a suspect.

DELPHI, Ind. – Indiana State Police investigators, who declined to take questions Monday after releasing the first public clues in more than a year in the February 2017 homicides of Delphi teens Abby Williams and Libby German, found themselves issuing another clarification two days later.

On Wednesday, police emphasized that a new sketch of a suspect’s face is not supposed to be a different take on a composite sketch of a heavier, older-looking man. They are, according to Indiana State Police Sgt. Kim Riley, not the same person.

The new composite drawing released by officials on Monday, April 22 of the person suspected in the Delphi Murders.(Photo: Composite by Indiana State police)

Riley also said Wednesday that the original sketch – released in the summer of 2017, showing a man with a goatee and a driving cap – is “not presently a person of interest in this investigation.”

According to an ISP release, the new sketch of the clean-shaven man “is representative of the face of the person captured in the video on Liberty German’s cell phone as he was walking on the high bridge.”

Abby and Libby were hiking on the Monon High Bridge trail, a popular trail near Delphi, on Feb. 13, 2017. When they didn’t arrive to meet their ride at the trailhead that afternoon, police and community volunteers searched the trail and the surrounding woods. The girls were found on Feb. 14, about a half-mile up Deer Creek from the abandoned Monon High Bridge rail trestle.

Few details have been released in the past 26 months, making Monday’s announcement that investigators were taking a new turn in the case of national media interest.

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A sketch released by police Monday, July 17, 2017, of a man believed to be connected to murder of Liberty German and Abigail Williams last February. The bodies of German, 14, and Williams, 13, were found a day after they were hiking near Monon High Bridge east of Delphi. (Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier)

But there’s been confusion, in Delphi and beyond, about the differences between the two sketches and why investigators released a new one this week. The Indianapolis Star reported that the sketch artist in the case made the picture on Feb. 17, 2017, a few days after the girls’ bodies were found.

After releasing new video of a man walking on the Monon High Bridge – basically adding movement to a photo released in 2017 from Libby’s phone – extended audio from a clip also released in 2017 and the new sketch, police declined to take questions from dozens of reporters at Delphi’s Canal Center.

In ISP’s attempt to clarify on Wednesday, Riley wrote that investigators’ initial belief that “a person in the age range of his 40s to 50s was a person of interest in this murder investigation.”

“Now, as the investigation has matured and past information has been reassessed,” ISP’s release said, “it is the belief of investigators with the Multi-Agency Task Force that the person depicted in the sketch released on April 22 more accurately represents the person wanted for the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German.”

The new sketch features what police called a man with “a youthful appearance, but could fall in the age range from his 20s to late-30s.”

Police still weren’t answering what led to the change in direction or why the new suspect’s sketch was held back for more than two years.

Since Monday's release of the new sketch, audio and video, police report they've received more than 1,000 new tips. The case, which had more than 100 federal, state and local investigators assigned at one point, had generated more than 38,000 tips, as of the second anniversary of the murders.

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The audio and video were both recorded on Libby German's phone.
Courtesy of Indiana State Police, Lafayette Journal & Courier

► THE SUSPECT: Police continue to look for a white male between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10, weighing 180 to 200 pounds, with reddish brown hair. On Monday, Indiana State Police released a new composite photo of a new suspect, putting his age in his mid-20s to late-30s. Images and video on Libby German’s cellphone show a man walking across Monon High Bridge that day, wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket and a hat. Police also release a recording, taken from Libby’s phone, of a man saying, “Guys, down the hill.”

Police also said Monday that they were looking for information about a car parking in an abandoned CPS building parking lot, at 6931 W. 300 North in Delphi, between noon and 5 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017. Police did not give details about make, model, color or other features of the car. The building has since been demolished.

► TIPS: Anyone with information about the case may call the Delphi Homicide Investigation Tip Line at 844-459-5786; the Indiana State Police at 800-382-7537; the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department at 765-564-2413; or by email to Abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com.

Reach Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @davebangert.

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Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

A sketch of the suspect is reveled during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Community members strain to photograph a sketch of the suspect during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Sgt. Tony Slocum of the Indiana State Police speaks before a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Carrie Timmons, Libby German's mother, reacts after a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

community members line up before a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Community members film Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police as he speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Community members react as Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Family member embrace after a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Family members react as Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police reacts as he speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Mike and Becky Patty, Libby German's grandparents, during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police leaves a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby leaves a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier

Megan Lang, left, of Toronto, Canada and Margot Clark of Carmel look at a video showing the suspect walking after a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi. Abby Williams and Libby German, both Delphi eighth-graders, were murdered while hiking a popular community trail near Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017. Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier